Unfrozen Winter Winners Enjoy Their Disney Cruise

You may remember the charming Hall family who were the winners of our Unfrozen Winner contest earlier this year. They won by submitting this precious snowman photo: 

McKinley Heating Service Experts sent the family on a Disney Cruise and paid for airfare for four. Rebecca and Bradley (Mom and Dad) took their two oldest kids, Korbin and Brooke, on their Disney Cruise in July this year. This was the first cruise for Korbin and Brooke and the first in about 10 years for Rebecca and Bradley. 

“I can’t begin to explain how much fun we had and how truly magnificent the whole thing was,” wrote Rebecca. “It was a trip we could have never taken on our own. Disney does cruising right!” 

The Hall parents were nice enough to send us their itinerary and some pictures from their awesome trip. If you want to a Disney Cruise, or just looking to see what it’s all about, keeping reading for the highlights from the Hall’s trip. 

Monday

We were on the water for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and then landed in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We reserved a Catamaran and went out with 4 other families all day. It was my son and daughter’s first time snorkeling and they loved it. We spotted turtles and stingrays – it was quite possibly the best experience of the whole trip! 

Tuesday

We traveled from Tortola to St. Thomas in the American Virgin Islands, where we got to do more snorkeling, got to swim, and hung out on the beach. The water was truly that turquoise blue that they show on TV – truly incredible. 

 

Thursday

We sailed all day Wednesday and then docked at Castaway Cay, Disney’s Cruise Line Guest-Only Island. The water was very blue and had perfect visibility underneath, so of course we had to do more snorkeling! They placed a bunch of Mickey Mouses you could hunt for underwater, which helped make up for the fact there weren’t as many fish. They also have an 18+ beach which we lounged around on while our children played with other kids. The island had people everywhere to keep an eye on the kids so we (Mom and Dad) relaxed and drank a daiquiri. It was just like a floating Disneyland! 

Aboard

I (Rebecca) get goosebumps thinking about everything on the cruise ship – it was all so fun and unforgettable! The cruise has a “Midship Detective Agency” where you pick the mystery you want to solve and Disney gives you a card so you can write down all your clues. When you put the card up to a painting, the painting springs to life – it talks to you, tells you about the mystery you are solving, and gives you clues and directions. One mystery went on for two hours because we were running all over the cruise ship. 

They are continually showing first-run movies out by the pool so we got to enjoy Big Friendly Giant, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Jungle Book, and Finding Dory. We also got to experience the Aqua Duct, which is a large slide that takes you up and down and swings you out above the boat! 

We went Goofy Golfing and the cruise also has games like basketball, fooseball, and a Tween Club called Edge with things like scavenger hunts, ice breakers, and more. 

It’s really easy to find characters on the boat – you only have to wait three or four minutes versus 30 or 40 at Disneyland. We met about two each day, and one day we met five in a row! They also have different versions of the characters, such as Captain Mickey, Traditional Mickey, etc. 

The actual room was amazing! We had an ocean view room with a large porthole and window seat. Our provinceroom was a perfect size and all four of us were comfy and never felt smushed. 

Dining

You alternate three restaurants. Enchanted Garden has neat flower lights on the ceiling that open and close and the colors on the ceiling change throughout your meal and Royal Court was really elegant and put me in mind of Cinderella. The food is very gourmet and they have a good variety. My oldest tried everything, even the escargot at the Royal Court. (He told us it tasted like dirt!) 

Animators Palette is animation-themed and they give you markers on your table so you can sketch a figure. They give you instructions on how to draw a figure, then they pick up the drawings and at the end of your meal, they animate your drawings on big screens. You have no warning! They put them to music and position them in Disney films. Our daughter is our artist so she put a lot of effort into hers and was ecstatic – the rest of us weren’t quite as talented 

“Our family can’t thank Service Experts enough for this unbelievable vacation,” Rebecca wrote after they returned from the trip. “I get emotional when I think about it all. Submitting an entry I never thought would go anywhere, learning we were a finalist, the nail-biting voting stage, the big reveal, researching and selecting which cruise, the anticipation of going and finally experiencing a sensational vacation. It was such a fun time living it all. Thank you, thank you!” 

Like Service Experts on Facebook to watch for our next great contest!